Lesson
1
Creation
Week
III. CREATION
WEEK
The first verse of the
Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis
1:1). The Creation account reveals that God made all things in six days. On the
seventh day. He rested. Let us examine each day.
A. The First Day
On the first day, God
said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3). Then, God divided the light
from the darkness. He called the light Day, and the darkness Night (Genesis 1:3-5).
At this point, the
earth was still "without form, and void." (Genesis 1:2.) There
existed a mass of waters.
B. The Second Day
On the second day, God
said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it
divide the waters from the waters" (Genesis 1:6). God called the firmament
Heaven; today we call it the sky.
This firmament divided the waters into those which were under it, and those which
were above it (Genesis 1:6-8).
C. The Third Day
On the third day. God
said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one
place, and let the dry land appear" (Genesis 1:9). He called the dry land Earth, and the gathered waters, the Seas.
On the same day, God
also said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and
the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the
earth" (Genesis 1:11). So the third day saw the appearance of dry land,
the gathering of the waters into specific areas, and the creation of grass,
herbs and trees on the land (Genesis 1:9-13).
D. The Fourth Day
On the fourth day God
said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the
day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days,
and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give
light upon the earth" (Genesis 1:14, 15). On this, the fourth day, God
made the sun, moon, and stars. These were to divide the light from darkness,
and to mark days, seasons, and years with their signs (Genesis 1:14-19).
E. The Fifth Day
On the fifth day, God
said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath
life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of
heaven" (Genesis 1:20). By His spoken Word, God created the great whales,
and every living creature that moves in the water, as well as every winged
fowl. God also said, "Be fruitful, and multiply in the earth"
(Genesis 1:22). On the fifth day, then, God created the fish and the birds
(Genesis 1:20-23).
F. The Sixth Day
The sixth day saw the
creation of animals and mankind. God said, "Let the earth bring forth the
living creature after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing
that creepeth upon the earth after his kind" (Genesis 1:24). Then, God
said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth" (Genesis 1:26). Thus, God created man in His own image,
and He made both male and female. God said to them, "Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth. Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a
tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the
earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the
earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat"
(Genesis 1:28-30). Man, then, is the only creation of God commanded to have
dominion over all creatures, and to subdue the earth. Man is also the creation
to be made in the image of God (Genesis 1:24-31).
G. The Seventh Day
On the
last day of creation week. God rested (Genesis 2:1-3). Creation was complete,
and God's relationship with mankind was just beginning.